DocFetcher vs Recoll
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted search engines options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | DocFetcher | Recoll |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | EPL-1.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Java | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, bare-metal | bare-metal, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 65 | ★ 300 |
| First released | 2007 | 2005 |
| Replaces | Google Desktop | Google Desktop |
What are DocFetcher and Recoll?
DocFetcher
DocFetcher is an open-source desktop search application that lets you search the contents of files on your computer. It indexes many document formats and provides fast full-text retrieval.
- Full-text desktop search
- Indexes many document formats
- Portable mode available
- Result preview pane
Recoll
Recoll is a full-text search tool that indexes the contents of your documents, emails and archives. It supports a wide range of file formats and can run as a desktop or web-accessible search.
- Full-text document indexing
- Supports dozens of file formats
- Powerful query language
- Optional web UI
DocFetcher vs Recoll: key differences
DocFetcher is written in Java, while Recoll is built with C++. Licensing differs — EPL-1.0 for DocFetcher versus GPL-2.0 for Recoll. Recoll is the more established project (first released 2005), while DocFetcher arrived in 2007. Recoll has the considerably larger community, at 300 GitHub stars versus 65.
Why pick each one
Choose DocFetcher if…
- Simple and effective
- Fully offline
Watch out for
- Java desktop UI feels dated
Choose Recoll if…
- Excellent local document search
- Format coverage
Watch out for
- Indexing UI is utilitarian
Frequently asked questions
Is DocFetcher or Recoll better?
Neither is universally better. Recoll has the larger community, while DocFetcher is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are DocFetcher and Recoll free and open-source?
Yes. DocFetcher is licensed under EPL-1.0 and Recoll under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run DocFetcher and Recoll with Docker?
DocFetcher: check the project docs for container support. Recoll: check the project docs for container support.